Enjoy, learn and honor the art, science and culture of oceanic navigation during ‘Imiloa’s 11th annual Wayfinding Festival, sponsored by the Ama OluKai Foundation, this weekend.
This year’s festival is slated for 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 18). Admission is free.
This 2018 festival theme, “Samoa, The Navigator’s Islands,” will feature a special panel discussion with crew members who sailed on Hokule‘a’s voyage to Samoa. Crew members will recount their 2014 visit to the islands that constitute Samoa and share the significance of Samoa, its culture and history and why these islands are considered the “Cradle of Polynesian Civilization.”
“Navigating the deep sea and charting their oceanic voyages using clues from natural surroundings is an admirable feat and we, at ‘Imiloa are thrilled to host our annual Wayfinding Festival to honor our ancestors,” said ‘Imiloa Executive Director Ka‘iu Kimura. “And, at the same time, it is a chance to celebrate our modern day navigators who are inspiring and educating our next generation of celestial navigators.”
The full day’s events will include indoor and outdoor voyaging activities, presentations in the CyberCANOE, star lines presentation in the planetarium and access to ‘Imiloa’s interactive Exhibit Hall. There also will be a children’s show in the planetarium every hour.
To top it off, the first 150 youth to successfully build a canoe model will be able to keep it as a souvenir.
“We are very grateful to Ama OluKai Foundation for its continued support of ‘Imiloa and sponsorship of our 11th annual Wayfinding Festival as we share in the celebration of Hawaiian culture, its ancestral past and exploration,” said Kalepa Baybayan, ‘Imiloa’s navigator-in-residence.
‘Imiloa is a world-class center for informal science education located on the campus of the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Its centerpiece is a 12,000-square-foot Exhibit Hall, showcasing astronomy and Hawaiian culture as parallel journeys of human exploration guided by the light of the stars.
The visitor experience is amplified with programming using ‘Imiloa’s full-dome planetarium and 9 acres of native landscape gardens.
The center welcomes about 100,000 visitors each year, including more than 10,000 schoolchildren on guided field trips and other educational programs.
‘Imiloa is located at 600 ‘Imiloa Place in Hilo, off of Komohana and Nowelo streets in the UH-Hilo Science and Technology Park.
For more information about the center or the upcoming Wayfinding Festival, visit www.ImiloaHawaii.org or call 932-8901.